


He's A Vampire

by rexlover180



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: But it's actually funny I swear, High School, M/M, Vampire AU, but not really, hopefully, miscommunication as a plot device
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 21:55:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9035768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexlover180/pseuds/rexlover180
Summary: Keith moves to a new town and a new school in the middle of the semester, dreading the idea of being the lone new kid. Lo and behold, the first people he meets are Hunk, Pidge, and Lance, who are all very friendly. There's just one issue. Keith is absolutely sure Lance is a vampire.





	1. The Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this story is inspired by a post by Tumblr user summersnowleopard. They came up with a Twilight AU of Keith, Lance, and Mothman and had a list of things for an au where Keith thinks Lance is a vampire and I got inspired because this is hilarious. No Mothman in this fic because I honestly don’t know much about him and I probably couldn’t keep a straight face if I tried. Anyway, take my attempt at humor and enjoy! I’ll be posting all of this in one day, so sit back and enjoy!

The Arrival

It was raining. Keith didn’t mind it, in fact he enjoyed it. He was so pale that any kind of sun, especially the sun he got back in Phoenix, made him burn almost instantly. The only shitty part about it raining was that his stupid schedule was getting wet when he was trying to figure out what to do so he didn’t look like an absolute idiot going inside that new school. He’d only moved to this town yesterday and it was already time for his first day of school; thank you shitty foster parents for deciding to move all the way to Oregon for absolutely no reason in the middle of the school year. They could have at least waited for the semester to be over.

He decided to walk, but he didn’t think it would actually rain until he was halfway to the school without an umbrella and the downpour started. The insides of his backpack would also probably be drenched, too. Absolutely perfect.

Finally, he made it to the school parking lot and, apparently, the people that lived here at no fear of the rain, driving recklessly to the point where Keith was almost run over twice. When he finally made it safely indoors, he was greeted by the usual, loud crowds of kids that he expected from every school. They crowded in clumps around the entrance and in the lunch room and he expertly avoided all of them. He made sure to write down the locker number they gave him on the schedule and, despite the soaking wet paper, he could still make it out.

After looking through the lockers for a few minutes, he was able to figure out how they were organized and he found his own relatively easily. To his displeasure, a small group of people were standing right next to it. He just ignored them as he tried to put in the code he also wrote on his schedule, but his first try had it wrong. He groaned, trying his best to ignore the people beside him. He didn’t want to look like that much of an idiot on his first day. He could open his own damn locker.

So, hyper aware of the three kids to his right, he tried a different code, trying to read the faded numbers on his schedule. When he failed for the fifth time, he resigned himself to just never being able to open his locker. He could just deal with having a heavy backpack for the rest of the year, that would be fine.

“Hey, uh, do you need help?” Keith winced. That was exactly the opposite of what he wanted. He didn’t even look up at them.

“No,” Keith said simply, trying in vain to lift up the lever to open the locker. This was so embarrassing…

“Here,” one of the kids said, sliding in front of him to kneel in front of Keith’s locker. Keith took a step back, blinking as the girl set to work. She had her ear pressed to the locker while she worked the wheel, listening intently. Keith took this as an opportunity to finally look at the people apparently helping him out. The girl kneeling in front of his locker was very short and small, most likely a Freshman. She was pale, her face dotted with freckles, light brown eyes behind glasses…with no lenses. She had light brown hair cut short, near her ears, and she was wearing a sweatshirt, which made sense with the weather, but also shorts.

The other two looked closer to Keith’s age, which meant he would have to deal with the humiliation of actually seeing them in some of his classes. One of them was massive, easily a head taller than Keith and looked like he could be a body builder with that much mass. He had a headband tied around his dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. The other kid was closer to Keith’s height, but extremely lanky and pretty thin. He had brown hair as well, but what caught Keith’s attention the most was that his eyes were really freaking blue. Like, almost inhumanly blue. On top of that, his skin was impossibly smooth and seemed to almost…no, it was definitely sparkling in this light. Plus, Keith could see a Band-Aid stuck to the side of his neck, the pale shade way too light to blend in and make it less noticeable.

“There we go,” the Freshman said, standing up as the door to Keith’s locker swung open in front of her.

“Wow, that was a record for you, Pidge,” the lanky one said happily, moving to high-five her.

“Thanks,” Keith said and the girl, Pidge, looked up at him with a wicked smirk.

“Just buy me lunch and we’re even, new kid,” Pidge said happily. Keith inwardly groaned. So it was that obvious he was a new kid, huh? Well, considering he was stupid enough to not bring an umbrella and he couldn’t even open his own locker, it was probably pretty obvious. “I’ll write down and give you the actual code, but only after I get that lunch.”

“Deal,” Keith said. His foster parents had said something about trying to make friends, so he might as well appease them for this one day. Pidge smiled even wider at that.

“Need any help finding your way around?” the lanky one offered and Keith immediately shook his head. He did not need to owe any more favors. “Oh, relax, I’m not sadistic like Pidge. I’m Lance, by the way. Tall, dark, and mysterious over there his Hunk.”

“I’m not that mysterious, am I?” Hunk pouted and Lance laughed, patting him on the shoulder.

“’Course not, buddy,” Lance offered. Keith felt really bad for staring, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of that weird Band-Aid. He felt like an absolute idiot for thinking it, but the first thought that came to mind when he saw that on Lance’s neck and the sparkling skin was “vampire.” It was stupid, he knew, but for some reason he couldn’t get the thought out of his head. There had to be some reasonable explanation for it, but it would be rude to just up and ask him, especially if he really was a vampire…

Keith saw a hand waving in front of his face and he took a startled step back, staring at Lance with wide eyes and Lance laughed lightly.

“You spaced out there for a second, buddy,” Lance said and Keith nodded minutely. He was a massive idiot, allowing himself to space out thinking about vampires in front of absolute strangers. Of course his first day had to be cliché and go this bad already. “Let me see your schedule, maybe I can help you find your way around.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Keith said, handing over the wet sheet and purposefully looking away from Lance’s neck by looking at his feet instead.

“Hey, I promise there’s no need to be nervous,” Hunk said reassuringly and Keith snapped his attention to Hunk. He was normal, at least. No vampire vibes, so that was good. “I came in middle of the semester last year, too. Don’t worry about it, it’s not actually that bad.”

“Yikes, not if you’ve got Iverson,” Lance said with a groan and Keith raised a brow, looking over as Lance continued to scan through the paper. “That guy’s always on my ass.”

“Maybe that’s because you never turn in assignments on time,” Pidge said.

“It’s a form of protest,” Lance said proudly. “He knows I already know everything he’s trying to teach so why does he have to be such a hard ass when it comes to grading everything?”

“You’re literally getting As in every other subject,” Hunk said with a laugh. “Just swallow your pride for two seconds-”

“Nope, never gonna happen,” Lance said. “Okay, then, new guy. Looks like we have Algebra with Iverson together and Spanish at the end of the day. But! I’ll only show you around on one condition.”

“I thought you said you’re not sadistic,” Keith said bluntly and Lance cracked a massive smile.

“Tell me your name, dude,” Lance said. “I’m not sadistic, but if we’re gonna be friends I kinda need to know your name, don’t I?”

“Friends?” Keith asked, raising a brow. He was always skeptical when people approached him and, before they even knew each other, demanded to be friends. Keith never made friends easily. Hell, he only really had one that he left behind in Phoenix.

“I’m waiting,” Lance said with a smile, holding the paper in his hand. The bell rang above them and Keith groaned, resigning himself to his fate. There was no guarantee that he would be forced to be friends with these people anyway, all he really owed to them was Pidge’s lunch.

“Keith.”

* * *

Math class with Lance turned out to be extremely interesting. It wasn’t the first class of the day, but it was right before lunch, so the entire class was itching to leave the second they sat down. Despite Lance not paying attention to Mr. Iverson during any of his instruction, he seemed to understand the assignment completely. Almost like he’d done it before…

Keith shook his head. As much as he definitely believed vampires were real, Lance was definitely not one. Then again, Keith still hadn’t gone through any of the sure fire tests, like seeing how he reacts to garlic and silver. And there was never a way to know for sure if someone was a vampire because their fangs could always retract. Regardless, Keith had to stay focused. He wasn’t exactly the best at math, but he could make this work. The only terrible part came when, at the end of the class, the teacher gave him all of the worksheets that the class had been through so far that semester and told him to work through them by the end of next week. Most other teachers were more understanding when it came to a Junior coming into school halfway through the semester, but this was cruel and unusual punishment.

“If you want, I could help you out,” Lance offered to Keith as they walked out of the class. As hungry as Keith was, too, he also knew one unforgettable rule about high school; school lunches were always terrible. He could wait until he got home to eat. “This class is so easy, I could practically do it all for you. But, that’s cheating and I’m not that much of an asshole.”

“Thanks,” Keith said bluntly. He didn’t need that much help with all the homework, especially since he did get most of the notes from the teacher. It was just a lot of work and he wasn’t entirely sure if he could do it all in a week or not.

Lance led him to the lunch room, where Pidge and Hunk were already waiting at one of the round tables. Keith followed Lance’s lead by leaving his backpack at the table and he silently prayed no one would steal his backpack as he followed them to the lunch line. There were actually multiple lines, each with a slightly different destination, but all of it smelled distinctly similar to each other. Pidge went straight for the Italian line and Keith followed and noticed Lance and Hunk go for the burger line without hesitation.

“Does Lance just not like Italian or something?” Keith asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

“He just hates garlic,” Pidge said and Keith nearly had a heart attack. There was no way… “Something about how it makes him smell really bad. Guy’s totally a neat freak, loves to keep himself clean and pretty.”

“Huh,” Keith mused. He took a deep breath. There had to be some logical explanation for Lance’s really weird behaviors. He acted like math was second nature to him because he was just really smart, not because he was immortal and had taken the class multiple times in the past. He didn’t like garlic because it made him smell bad, not because it was one of his mortal weaknesses. He just had a hickey on his neck, not a vampire bite. And the sparkling…Well, Pidge did say that Lance liked to keep himself clean. Maybe he just…used really glittery soap…

Keith was grateful when they finally got to the food so that he could at least distract his hyperactive imagination. Pidge was quick to order and Keith just shook his head, going through the line with her.

“So…” Pidge said as they waited to pay at the register. “What do you do for fun, Keith?”

“What?” Keith asked, having barely heard the question over himself trying to rationalize Lance not being a vampire.

“We’re supposed to be trying to be friends, right?” Pidge asked. “So, what do you do for fun?”

“Not a lot,” Keith blurted out. This was why it was hard for him to make friends. Once they got to knowing each other’s special interests people normally just thought he was just weird. He was practically obsessed with those alien and cryptid documentaries that everyone made fun of. That and he did a lot of research on the paranormal, like on vampires, werewolves, ghosts, all of it. So, he just tried to make himself sound as boring as possible so most people would leave him alone.

“Fine, then, I’ll break the ice a little,” Pidge said with a sigh. “People say it’s really stupid, but I really like watching those shows that, like, follow cryptid trails everywhere. And, yeah, I know people say they’re fake but they’re totally not. Those people are scientists just trying to find the facts. I’m sure the person trying to find bacteria got the same kind of reactions from their research.”

Keith blinked, staring down at his newfound friend, trying to control himself as his brain tried to process what just happened. Someone else brought up cryptids without even needing to be prompted. Maybe Keith had just magically found his perfect match without even having to try. This might just be the best day of his life.

“Uh, Keith?” Pidge asked. “Sorry if that’s weird, I get it if you don’t think-”

“Who is your favorite cryptid?” Keith interrupted her.

* * *

“Okay, so, I don’t want to sound like I’m attacking you or anything,” Lance said with a drawn out sigh. They were in Spanish class together at the end of the day and the teacher had them break out into small groups to work on a worksheet that Lance already finished fluently. “But you keep staring at my neck. Do you, like, have a problem or…?”

“Oh, no, sorry,” Keith said, looking down at his blank paper shyly. “I was just…The…The Band-Aid’s a little distracting, sorry.”

“Ugh, yeah, I know,” Lance said with a groan, his hand going up to cover it. “But I ran out of make up to be able to cover it and my mom really doesn’t know how to shop for Band-Aids for us, I swear. And I swear it’s not anything weird it’s just a hickey from this weekend. It’s not like I didn’t have fun but this guy was straight up like a vacuum cleaner on my freaking neck and it’s just…bad. Like, it’s worth the Band-Aid embarrassment, trust me.”

There, it wasn’t a vampire bite. Either that or Lance was really good at lying.

“Sorry,” Keith admitted. Maybe it would be better to change the subject to save them both the embarrassment. “How did you finish that worksheet so quickly?”

“Oh, that?” Lance said with a smirk on his face. “Well, you see, I have a secret up my sleeve that helps me ace this class without a problem. I’m fluent in Spanish.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Keith asked.

“Psh, nah,” Lance said. “I’m just using my strengths. Besides, I get a certain amount wrong every time. I still get an A in the class but I’m not forced to go up levels because I’m already fluent. I’ve been doing this for years, I’ve got this.”

“That’s definitely cheating,” Keith said.

“Whatever,” Lance scoffed. “I guess I won’t help you out, then. Good luck trying to figure all that out on your own.”

“Like I need your help,” Keith scoffed and Lance just shrugged happily, leaning back in his seat with his hands behind his head. He looked down at the worksheet. For Spanish 3, some of this was pretty intense, with most of the worksheet entirely in Spanish, except for the instructions. And he couldn’t stop thinking about Lance’s stupid neck and how he could really be lying and the guy at the party was actually a vampire that turned him.

What if Lance was a new vampire? That would mean he was dangerous until he could get a steady supply of blood…Keith had to be careful, just in case. Maybe he should start wearing a scarf to school, since Lance was so intent on being his friend. How long would that protect him for?

Keith shook his head. No, there was still no definite proof Lance was a vampire. Keith had only known him for a day and this would take a lot of intensive research before he could come to a definite conclusion. Maybe he could ask Pidge her opinion…

And so, the day ended with Keith begrudgingly copying off of Lance’s worksheet because he was too distracted to actually work and Keith making it home to start doing more intensive research on vampires on the internet. Forget math homework, he had to make sure he could handle himself in case a fledgling vampire tried to kill him if he got too close.


	2. The Speculation

The Speculation

Keith was able to get used to the new school relatively quickly. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge proved to be quite the team, knowing all the best places to study during off periods, keeping up a group chat even in the middle of class (a skill Keith hadn’t learned yet, if having his phone taken away three times told him anything), and their ability to keep up on all of the gossip around the school was astounding. And Keith was able to learn a few things about this new group of friends of his.

Hunk planned on being an engineer after school and, while he was normally pretty quiet and reserved, he could handle himself around Lance, even when he was being a handful. And, when he wanted to be, he could be pretty savage. Keith got along very well with Pidge as well. They’d actually spent a few days on the weekends watching a lot of documentaries and getting into discussions about Bigfoot and Mothman. Keith had also met Pidge’s older brother, Matt, and Pidge informed him that he was secretly into conspiracies, too.

Lance, on the other hand… Keith was absolutely sure that he was a vampire at this point. Sure, he lied and said that he sparkled because he spent a lot of time at LUSH and tried out all kinds of glittery things, but he also hated when the sun was out, bringing out an umbrella with him. Again, he said it was to make sure his skin stayed “flawless”, but Keith was starting to catch on. Keith had been over to his house once, under the guise of studying of course, to find that they didn’t have any silver anywhere in the house and garlic was nonexistent as well. On top of that, Lance’s “hickey” healed way too fast. Keith knew vampires could heal pretty quickly, so that meant that any bite Lance could have gotten, vampire or otherwise, would heal insanely quickly. The Band-Aid was off in just a day. Lance said it was because he got more makeup to cover it up, but Keith highly doubted anyone could be that skilled.

So the main question was…how would Keith go about this? Lance was definitely not a “brooding vampire” type. In fact, he was bright and happy and quite the socialite. Which led Keith to believe that he wasn’t a fledgling vampire. He had a lot of experience with this and knew how to get along with people. Even if his close friend group was small, almost everyone knew him. But a small friend group made sense, less people to get close to when he had to move on somewhere else.

Which meant that Lance probably felt lonely inside, he just never showed it on the outside. He was always hanging out with people and was insanely extroverted. He didn’t like to be alone. This fell out of Keith’s normal realm of vampire research and fell into the realm of fantasy novels. Sadly…what this meant…was that Lance was probably looking for someone to spend the rest of his life with so he wouldn’t have to be alone. He needed to find a romantic interest to turn into a vampire as well. He went to a lot of parties and had a Tinder and Grindr profile, meaning he was always on the lookout.

Keith had read enough vampire fantasy novels to know where this was going for him. The second he came to realization, he, of course, had to investigate some of his own feelings. This would mean he was the human protagonist of all of those Young Adult novels. He was new in town and his first friend happened to be the dashing vampire that a lot of people in the school had crushes on? Yeah, that sounded insanely familiar. But the real question was; did Keith actually like him that way or was it just his own imagination?

Keith was thinking on that now, resting his head in his hand as he absently stared at Lance during lunch. He was distracted by Hunk, talking about this amazing prank they were going to pull on Mr. Iverson at the end of the year as a good-bye present. Sure, Keith could say that Lance was handsome, probably a side-effect of the vampirism; all of them had to be beautiful in order to properly capture their prey. And, sure, Lance was also pretty funny, that was also a requirement for romantically liking someone, right? But did Keith’s heart do that fluttering thing that all the girls in those books do when Lance got too close?

“Eventually, he’s gonna notice you staring,” Pidge said bluntly and Keith nearly jumped out of his own skin, staring at her with wide eyes.

“What?” Keith asked and Pidge just grinned at him. “What? I don’t see what you’re talking about.”

“Dude, if you’re crushing on Lance, which I have no idea why that’s a thing that would cross your mind, you should probably do something other than stare,” Pidge said. “Lance is kinda oblivious when it comes to noticing other people’s crushes on him unless they flat out tell him. So if you’re waiting on him to make the first move…”

“No, no, no, that’s not what’s happening,” Keith said in a hushed voice. Okay, maybe it was a little bit, but that was what he was trying to figure out!

“Yeah, sure,” Pidge said sarcastically. “Then just ask him out on a date. You don’t need to be dating to go out on a date, right?”

Keith blinked owlishly at her. The thought had never even crossed his mind. It’s not like he dated a lot in the past. Sure, he’d seen a lot of extremely attractive guys, but none of them had any interest in him or any of his interests, so that attraction pretty much died away quickly. And most of the books and shows that Keith watched never had people go on dates unless they’d already confessed their love and they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Was that really an option?

“If I’m fourteen and I know how to do this better than you,” Pidge said bluntly, “I think you might need some serious help.”

“I can’t just…” Keith whispered, praying Lance’s superhuman hearing wasn’t catching onto their conversation, “ask him on a date, are you crazy?”

“I’ll ask him for you, if that’s what you want,” Pidge said bluntly.

Keith narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me,” Pidge said with a triumphant smile. “Either you make your move by the end of the day, or I do it for you. In the group chat.”

Honestly, what kind of betrayal…

“Fine,” Keith said. He could do that. Just…a date.

Oh, God, what should he even invite Lance to do? What was a good vampire date? They couldn’t go out to eat. Keith couldn’t force Lance to swallow more food than he already does. Sure, Lance puts on a good show and fakes a smile but Keith knows that the food is tasteless and gross to him since it’s not blood. They couldn’t go out to the park, Keith didn’t want to force him to walk in the sun longer than he needed to. What about…a movie. Yeah, movies were dark and…they could be romantic. Like…if you put up that armrest and share popcorn out of the same bucket. Yeah…a movie could work.

“You’ve got until the last school bell rings,” Pidge said, holding out her hand. Keith looked at it for a short while before he took it. He could just do it in Spanish class, no big deal. It’s not like he was that awkward or anything.

* * *

This was the worst day of Keith’s life.

He’d spent a good half of the day planning out how he would ask Lance on that stupid date, had it written down to the fucking word in his English notebook, but now when he came face-to-face with the vampire again, he was so full of nerves he couldn’t even speak when the teacher called on him to answer a question.

“Dude, are you okay?” Lance asked him eventually and Keith wanted to just hide his head in his own jacket. “I keep telling you that you need to actually start eating during lunch.”

Keith shook his head. “I’m fine,” he muttered, thankful when his voice came out without stuttering. He took a deep breath. He could do this. Fucking it up here would be way better than letting Pidge do it over the group chat. Keith wasn’t sure if he could handle that kind of embarrassment. He could handle it if he asked Lance just in person and he said no, but definitely not in front of his only two other friends in this town.

“You sure?” Lance asked bluntly. “You kinda look like you’re about to puke. If you are, we should totally tell the teacher. I definitely wouldn’t mind getting out of class to walk you to the nurse.”

Keith took a deep breath before he just decided to rip off the Band-Aid.

“Go on a date with me,” he blurted out and immediately felt his entire face flush red. He just said that. He really did. Maybe he _was_ going to puke…

Lance’s face only made it worse. He was completely shocked, mouth practically hanging open. Definitely not the reaction Keith wanted, but it wasn’t disgust yet, so that was good. Keith stayed quiet as he watched Lance’s thoughts work themselves out across his face. Maybe if Keith just didn’t say anything, Lance would forget this happened entirely and they could just go on like normal.

“Okay,” came Lance’s reply eventually and now it was Keith’s turn to look at him like he was ridiculous. Lance’s blush spread all the way to his ears as the two stared at each other, neither brave enough to say anything after the awkward interaction. Keith had no idea vampires could blush. Lance must have fed recently.

Keith eventually cleared his throat, but felt the blush get worse as he started to speak. “Uh…um…th-this weekend. Movie?”

“Okay,” Lance said. “Saturday? Seven?”

“Okay,” Keith said.

The bell rang above them and Keith damn near bolted out of the room, hoping to get outside into some cold air. Unluckily for him, they both had plans with their friends after this. So Keith had to deal with the utter humiliation that was Pidge noticing their blushes and their awkward distance from each other and immediately cackling about it. But, in the long run, Keith figured that didn’t matter. What did matter was that Keith had a date with his vampire friend.

* * *

“I’m going on a date with a vampire.”

Shiro blinked, the slight lag in the video call causing the action to drag out for longer than Keith thought necessary. Shiro was going to be the first person he told about this discovery of Lance and he even set up a time for them to Skype call to give him the news. After about fifteen minutes of the usual pleasantries (How’s university? How’s the new school? Keeping grades up? Any friends?) Keith finally got around to blurting out this new fact about himself. And Lance.

“I’m sorry, what?” Shiro asked, a slight laugh lilting in his voice.

“Uh…one of my f-friends, Lance,” Keith said, trying to ignore the way he stumbled over the word ‘friend.’ “He’s a vampire. A-And I have a date with him. Like, a romantic date… At least, I think it’s romantic? I-I haven’t asked.”

“Okay,” Shiro said, adjusting his chair in front of his desk. He lived in the dorms, since it was his first year, but he was lucky enough to not even have a roommate. “We’re going to take this one thing at a time.” Keith nodded. Shiro was one of the few friends he had that knew all about Kieth’s…obsessions and actually stayed his friend after he found out. So Keith had high hopes. That didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous, already twisting his hands around as he looked on nervously at his laptop in front of him. “Congratulations, on the date, I mean. I didn’t expect you to find someone you cared enough about to ask out. You…did ask him out, right?”

“Y-Yeah, I was the one that did that,” Keith said, nodding quickly. “Thanks.” He actually still wasn’t entirely sure about his feelings for Lance, which was why they hadn’t solidified any of that…romantic stuff yet. Keith needed to figure out that part soon. He really, really liked hanging around Lance and, honestly, he wouldn’t mind them being in certain situations, like holding hands or…or hugging. The big question was if Keith was okay with Lance making him immortal so they could be in love. That…really freaked him out. He definitely wasn’t ready for that yet. Maybe after a few dates…

“Okay, congrats.” Shiro took a deep breath. “Vampire?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re sure about this?”

“Absolutely.”

Shiro cleared his throat. “Is this like when you were sure Rolo was Mothman?”

“Okay, that’s completely unrelated,” Keith said. “And he totally is, you can’t lie to me.”

“Right,” Shiro said. “Why do you think he’s a vampire?”

“I _know_ he’s a vampire,” Keith said simply. “But, um…first off there’s the fact that he actually sparkles in the sunlight. He says it’s because he goes to LUSH religiously, but I doubt that. Then there’s the fact that he despises garlic, which was already highly suspicious. And also, when I first met him, he had this Band-Aid on his neck because he said it was a hickey, but whatever it was was healed the next day, which definitely isn’t realistic. He hates the sun, he actually caries around an umbrella and he says that’s for his skin, too? Not only that, but he’s so extroverted and good around other people that he has to have had experience in it. There’s no way anyone can be that comfortable in public unless they’re immortal.”

“Okay,” Shiro said with a slight chuckle and Keith narrowed his eyes. “I’m not…going to discount this, you’ve obviously done a lot of observations. So here’s my question for you; are you only dating him because you think he’s a vampire?”

“Of course not,” Keith said, quicker than he thought he would, honestly. He blushed, looking down at his hands. “I-I care a lot about him…as a person. He’s been a good friend to me and…h-he’s cute. And nice. I don’t know…what’s supposed to make you think you should date someone?”

“That’s a tough question,” Shiro mused and Keith glanced up at him. “I think it’s different for everyone, but it sounds like you do like him. A lot. Even if he is a…vampire.”

Keith’s blush grew even worse. “Do you think this is stupid?” he asked carefully. There were a lot of stupid things about this. Getting so close to a vampire was one of them. He could possibly hurt Lance a lot if they wound up not making Keith a vampire as well. And, of course there was always the insanely small chance that Keith was just seeing things and Lance wasn’t a vampire. But that wasn’t likely at this point.

“No, I think it’s…cute,” Shiro said. “You seem happy. Just make sure…if you do start dating, that you have a lot of communication, okay?”

“Of course, yeah,” Keith said with a quick nod. With a vampire for a boyfriend, he had to make sure they kept good communication all the time, otherwise risk all of those bad situations that happen in all of the books Keith read.

“Good,” Shiro said. “So…what are you doing for this date?”


	3. The Dates

The Dates

Lance honestly didn’t know why he was so nervous. He solidified his plans with Keith a few days ago and he was waiting near the tickets, tapping his foot on the ground feverishly as he stared at the door, willing Keith to walk inside. It was just a freaking movie, he could handle this. Just get some popcorn, settle down next to him. Maybe he could try doing the arm thing…

Yeah, Lance was a smooth guy, he could do this. Since Keith was the one to ask him on this date, it meant that he was already interested. Made Lance’s job easy. Maybe he should start doing that romantic shit now…like flirting? And maybe use some of his absolutely amazing pickup lines. Yeah…that would impress Keith, right.

Lance nearly jumped out of his own skin when the door opened, but it was just another couple coming inside, hands held between them. Lance let out a long breath to steady his nerves. Why was he so…nervous? He’d been on dates before. Just not with someone like Keith. Why was Keith so special?

Well…He was really, really different. He had that kind of ‘better than you’ relaxed air about him that made him really, insanely cool despite the fact that he was really a total loser. He looked like someone who could ride a motorcycle and, at the same time, talk your ear off about aliens because he spent the whole night doing research. He was really, really smart and very funny. And Lance had no idea that he was actually developing feelings like that for him until Keith straight up asked him out completely out of nowhere. And Lance actually blushed and couldn’t say anything clever, he was so caught off guard. That was another thing about Keith that he really, really liked; he was unpredictable.

“Are you just going to stare into space this whole time?” Keith asked and Lance jumped, looking over at his date who appeared out of nowhere. Keith gave him that stupid, adorable smirk. Lance took a deep breath. He needed to relax. It would be really hard to mess up a movie date, after all.

“Nah, babe, I’d rather stare at you,” came out of Lance’s mouth before he could stop himself. Keith’s response was immediate, a blush covering his face right up to his ears and Lance blushed with him. He really could mess up a movie date, couldn’t he?

“I think you’re nice to look at, too,” Keith said quietly before immediately turning to the ticket booth and getting into line. Lance was about damn ready to have a heart attack. And this was just the first date??? Would they even have a second date? At this rate, Lance wasn’t sure if he could survive this one.

They waited in line quietly, apparently neither of them sure what to say after that kind of exchange. Lance let Keith pick the movie and he decided on one of those thriller alien movies. Not exactly Lance’s first choice, but he expected no less. Hopefully it would be interesting. Lance finally worked up the guts to clear his throat and say something when they walked by the concessions stand. Maybe he could do that date thing and pay for Keith’s food since he forgot to offer to buy the movie ticket.

“Uh, popcorn?” Lance offered. Keith glanced back at him before looking over at the concessions.

“No, I…uh…I’m good,” Keith said.

“Oh, yeah, no, I’m good, too,” Lance said, following Keith. He was a little hungry, but he could make it through a movie. It never seemed like Keith was actually hungry whenever Lance was around. Weird…

Lance took a deep breath to steady himself as they walked through the theater. He had to up his game if he wanted another date. Which he did. He really did. They walked into the theater and Lance immediately started looking through the spots. There were a lot of prime date spots. Hell, even the back middle spot was open, perfect for…not first date activities…Keith already walked ahead of him, though, and Lance trailed behind him. Keith made a direct line to that spot right in the back middle and Lance felt like he was about to combust. But he couldn’t back down now. He had to stay smooth. He had an image to keep up.

“So, uh…” Lance said. “You…excited for this movie? You didn’t seem to hesitate choosing it.”

“Honestly,” Keith mused, “most movies don’t really interest me all that much. I mean, not newer movies.”

“Dude, you like older movies, too?” Lance asked as they sat down. “No way. Okay, what time period, though? Because I think Hollywood definitely hit its heyday in the 50s.”

“Why, because you liked ogling at Marilyn Monroe?” Keith asked bluntly and Lance couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“Savage,” Lance said. “And what about you? No, wait, let me guess. You’re totally a greaser, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely not,” Keith said, turning up his nose. “60s. Not only do we have the Twilight Zone, non-movie wise, but that was mid space race, so all of the best alien movies came out around that time.”

“Something tells me you have a soft-spot for space,” Lance said with a smirk, leaning on the arm rest between them. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“Are you…seriously asking me out again before we’ve even finished this first date?” Keith asked.

“I like my odds that this is going well,” Lance said. “Do you think something different?”

“We’ll see,” Keith said simply. “I’ll warn you though…I am a bit of a talker during movies.”

“Hmmm,” Lance mused. “Since you’re cute, I’ll give you a freebie. Just this once.”

“Cute, huh?” Keith asked. The lights dimmed and Lance glanced at the screen as it started playing a preview for an upcoming movie. “We’ll see how long that lasts.”

* * *

“This is so stupid and cliché,” Keith said simply and Lance just laughed, guiding him through the building. He made Keith close his eyes in the car ride over (Lance drove partially to show off his car and partially to make sure Keith had no idea where this date was) and keep his eyes closed as Lance got the tickets and walked him through the hallways.

“I think you’ll like it, though,” Lance said happily, holding him by his shoulders from behind to guide him properly. “There are steps here, so look out.”

“Where are we?” Keith asked impatiently.

“That would ruin the surprise,” Lance said. He was very, very proud of this idea. And the fact that Keith actually kept his eyes closed made him insanely happy. Giddy, even. Keith just groaned low in his throat in annoyance and Lance’s smile grew. “Just a few more steps, buddy, we’re almost there.”

“Buddy?” Keith snorted. “Is that your new pet name now?”

“Depends if you like it,” Lance offered.

“I wouldn’t know,” Keith said. “You keep changing them all so fast I can’t figure out if I like any of them.”

“Keep shit talking and I might not give you another one,” Lance said before turning Keith towards the screen. “Okay, sit down, carefully.”

He stayed hovering around Keith just in case, but he managed to sit down alright on his own. Lance excitedly took his seat next to him.

“Can I open my eyes yet?” Keith asked.

Lance hummed. “Not yet.” He would wait until the show started, then Keith could open them. Keep the surprise until the very end. “Wait just a little longer, I promise I won’t disappoint you.”

“After this, you really better not,” Keith said, but he laughed a little at the end. “At least try to entertain me while we wait.”

“Okay,” Lance mused. “How about 20 questions?”

“Are you serious?” Keith asked and Lance’s smile grew. That wasn’t a ‘no’.

“We can switch off,” Lance said. “I ask, then you ask. Time will just fly by, I promise.”

“Fine,” Keith said. “Shoot.”

“Favorite color?” Lance asked. He could start easy at first. No need to scare anyone off.

“Red,” Keith said. Lance nearly laughed. Figures. “You?”

“Blue,” Lance said easily. “Favorite…subject in school.”

Keith hesitated a bit at that. “Science,” he eventually said. “You?”

“Same. Um…where did you grow up?”

“A lot of places,” Keith admitted. “It uh…happens a lot. The older foster kids get, the more parents bring them back.”

Oh, shit, that one was a mistake. Lance didn’t expect a dark backstory to come out of that question. But, it didn’t look like Keith minded all that much. In fact, he was calm. He said it with such a relaxed tone, like it didn’t bother him anymore. Before Lance could even mutter out an apology, Keith already asked him another question.

“Where is your favorite place to hang out?” he asked.

“There’s this really cool arcade like fifteen minutes from the school,” Lance said. “It’s also a bowling alley, laser-tag arena… I’ll take you there some day.”

“I’d…like that,” Keith said and Lance smiled. There he went again, just saying everything he thought without shame. It was definitely one of the many reasons Lance liked him. “Your turn.”

“Right…yeah, yeah,” Lance said, looking at the screen as it stayed blank. “Um…uh…favorite food?”

Keith hesitated for a moment but the lights dimmed around them and the screen turned to life. In his surprise, Keith opened his eyes and he looked in awe as stars filled the screen that went all the way over the ceiling. They were in the planetarium. Lance picked out a show that he thought looked really, really cool. Keith was speechless the second it started and Lance had a hard time figuring out which view he liked watching more; the screen or Keith.

* * *

“You know, I could help you,” Lance offered with a wicked grin, leaning back in his seat. It was incredibly loud in the bowling alley, but they had a lane all to themselves. It was almost as good as being alone. Keith, however, didn’t seem to be having as good a time as Lance was, considering his fifth consecutive gutter ball.

“I’m fine,” Keith said stubbornly. “I’ve got this.”

“Hey, hey, calm down there, hot shot,” Lance said before standing up. He grabbed for Keith’s ball at the same time as he did and Keith stared up at him, determination in his eyes. “Let me do something cute for once, come on, man.”

“You always do something cute,” Keith said with a little pout. Lance winked. “Fine. Help me, Mr. Strike.”

“Gladly,” Lance said happily. He lived to do obnoxious couply things with Keith, especially when he could be close to him. So, he let Keith take hold of the ball and he took position right behind him, moving his arms around Keith’s arms to help point him in the right direction.

“This is so stupid,” Keith said with a laugh and Lance just smiled, nuzzling a little into his neck. He noticed how Keith stiffened at that and wondered briefly if he was getting him excited. Then, he helped guide Keith’s arm back before letting the ball roll forward. They stood together, watching as it went right towards the pins, not directly in the middle but a little to the right. The pins made a satisfying sound as they all clattered to the ground and Keith let out a small laugh.

Lance smiled proudly, moving to take a step back, but Keith turned around quickly before pulling Lance into a kiss. Their first kiss, to be exact. _Something_ shot through him at the contact and he happily reciprocated, tilting his head just slightly to gain more access. It only lasted a few seconds, really, and they didn’t do much more than press their closed lips together, but Lance was already out of breath when they separated.

Keith looked at him, slightly shocked, but they both smiled at the same time, letting out a laugh together.

“Your turn,” Keith said, stepping to the side.

“Yeah,” Lance said, the smile refusing to drop.

* * *

“So, how’s the Honeymoon Phase?” Pidge asked with a knowing smirk and Lance raised a brow. He hadn’t even been able to sit down with his lunch before his friends were grilling him. Granted, he had been spending a lot of time with Keith, but he did try and make sure he had time for his friends, too. Besides, it never even seemed like Keith liked to eat in the first place, which Lance was really starting to think was weird.

“Honeymoon?” Lance asked, raising a brow as he sat down with Hunk, their trays full of fast food. Pidge sat opposite of them, a knowing smirk on her face.

“Oh, come on, you two practically can’t stop staring at each other,” Pidge groaned. “It’s a wonder you two can even do your school work in the same class.”

“Whatever, you’re just jealous,” Lance said.

“I’m fourteen,” Pidge said bluntly. “No, I’m not jealous of you and your gross boyfriend.”

“That’s because she wants a girlfriend,” Hunk snickered and Lance laughed, too.

“Okay, okay, jokes aside,” Lance said, “I think it’s going pretty well. I…really like him.”

“Gag me,” Pidge muttered and Lance just rolled his eyes.

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Hunk offered as they all started to eat.

“Okay, but here’s one thing,” Lance said after a little bit. “And I know it sounds really, really stupid, but hear me out.”

“This sounds good,” Pidge mused, going to take a drink from her soda.

“I think he could be a vampire?” Lance mused and Pidge nearly started choking, spitting out some of her drink in the process. “What? Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Pidge finally swallowed her drink, taking a deep breath of air. “No, no, please, go on.”

“A vampire? Really?” Hunk asked.

“Okay, but hear me out here,” Lance said. “First off, have you ever actually seen him eat? Out of all of our dates, he’s actively avoided eating anything. We haven’t gone on a single dinner date. And on top of that, the only time we’ve actually been outside together is at night. We’re always indoors in dark places. And, I mean, have you seen him? He’s pale as hell! And I thought that he dresses in all black just because he’s emo but he might just be a depressed vampire with issues.”

“Oh, my God,” Pidge said slowly under her breath, eyes wide.

“So you believe me?” Lance asked. “I know it sounds ridiculous and it sounds even stupider when I say it out loud, but like…I catch him staring at my neck a lot? Like…a lot.”

“I mean…evidence points to vampire but there has to be an explanation,” Hunk offered. “You haven’t seen him, like, feed off of animals, have you?”

“No,” Lance said. “But, still, I can’t get this idea out of my head. I mean…come on. The new, brooding guy comes into town and then starts dating the unsuspecting human? It might not be Twilight, but it still fits some of the stereotypes.”

“Okay, so, if he’s a vampire,” Pidge said with a very happy smile, “what are you gonna do?”

“I dunno,” Lance said. “I mean…I like him. A lot. I’m not…sure if I love him or anything, but um…I don’t know.”

“Oh, wait, what if he turns you so you guys can be in love forever?” Hunk asked.

“This is a lot of hypotheticals right now,” Lance said quickly. “I mean, I’m not even sure if I…if he…” What if Keith wanted to turn him…? Would he take him up on that offer? He liked Keith. A lot. But it wasn’t love. Not yet, at least. It hadn’t even been three weeks yet, he couldn’t say that at all.

“Maybe you should ask him about it,” Hunk offered.

“I don’t know,” Pidge mused. “What if he really is a vampire? I don’t think he’d really want his secret to just be found out. He’d want to tell you, right? Maybe wait until then.”

“For some reason, that doesn’t feel like good advice,” Lance mused. He might be new at the whole long-term dating thing, but he knew communication was something he should be invested in.

“Maybe…wait a bit,” Hunk said. “The Winter Dance is coming soon, right? Ask him then. It’ll give you some time to sit on your idea and think if it’s…you know, realistic.”

“Don’t worry, I already feel like an idiot just thinking about it,” Lance muttered. “I don’t even know if I could bring it up to Keith if I wanted to.”

“Well, you won’t catch me telling him your secret,” Pidge said with a slightly unnerving smile.

* * *

“Matt!” Pidge shouted the second she walked into her house. “You wouldn’t believe what just happened!”

“What’s the scoop?” Matt asked, sliding out of the office on their wheeled chair. Their parents were still at work and Pidge happily walked up to her brother.

“Now _Lance_ thinks _Keith_ is a vampire,” Pidge said and Matt was quiet for a moment before he started howling with laughter.

“Are you serious?” Matt asked. Pidge figured out that Keith thought Lance was a vampire weeks ago. Just the little clues Keith left behind. Pidge thought it was funny, kind of entertaining, and entirely harmless, so she let it happen. She definitely didn’t expect for Lance to start assuming Keith was a vampire.

“This is gold,” Pidge said.

“Oh my God,” Matt said, shaking his head in disbelief. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Nothing,” Pidge said. “I’m going to watch and hold this over their heads forever.”


	4. The Confession

The Confession

Keith wasn’t really much for dances. School dances especially. It was mostly a thing for girls to get together with their friends and do make up and wear dresses. Usually, guys just went along for the ride in a rented tux and then everyone danced awkwardly in a sweaty mess in the gymnasium. But Keith was looking forward to this one for just one reason.

Lance.

It had been just a few dates, just a few weeks, and Keith felt himself falling fast. He couldn’t help it, really. Lance was smart, funny, suave, confident, nice, and overall just amazing. And Keith really, really liked him. They’d shared a few more kisses since the first one, but they never got very far. Honestly, Keith was glad. What if Lance got too excited and his fangs came out? That would just be awkward for everyone involved. Keith was still waiting for Lance to tell him this secret on his own instead of just blurting it out. Regardless of how all of that went, though, Keith was still absolutely sure of his feelings.

Was he ready to confess his love and turn into a vampire? No, not really. But, he would cross that bridge when he got there. Still, Keith had to admit that Lance was definitely a very pretty sight in that stupid, rented tux by the punch bowl. They decided to get Lance a red tie and Keith a blue one for…sentimental reasons, and Keith had a very hard time believe he looked as good as Lance said. His foster parents tried a lot of things to his hair to get it to behave for this “special occasion” and he wound up just washing it out in the bathroom sinks before Lance even showed up.

Lance, however, looked as flawless as always. If his skin normally sparkled, he was positively glowing now, even in the shitty dark school lighting. He looked like he did something new with the make up on his face and the way he styled his hair, but Keith was never really that good at figuring that stuff out. He wanted to be really aware of it, since Lance obviously worked pretty hard on it…but he could still appreciate what he saw. Lance was laughing with Hunk about something, Hunk’s date Shay standing beside Keith, both of them too awkward to try and start any kind of conversation. Pidge had run off somewhere, talking about avoiding their weird double date thing, but that seemed a bit suspicious to Keith. Whatever, she usually wasn’t much of a hassle anyway.

Lance wound up walking back to Keith with two cups of punch in his hands. How thoughtful and sweet of him, having to suffer through drinking something for humans that probably tasted disgusting to him in the first place. Keith gratefully took the punch and glanced over at the dance floor, which quite honestly intimidated the hell out of him. So many people packed together dancing to songs he honestly couldn’t care less about…yeah, very intimidating. On top of that, there was no telling how good Lance’s self-control was and it could lead to something very bad if he was in the middle of so many teenagers at once.

Lance, seeming to sense Keith’s hesitation, leaned close to his hear so that Keith could hear him over the loud music. “If you don’t wanna go in, we can just dance on the outskirts here. I don’t mind.”

There were a few little groups of people along the edges of the gym. They seemed to be having fun themselves and Keith thought it would be…really nice. Maybe just the two of them for a little bit, too. He nodded gratefully. He already hated the feeling of the bass of the stupid pop song reverberating in his chest from this distance, he didn’t want to get much closer to the speaker if he could manage it.

They finished the punch, Keith only managing to get through half of it before the sickly sweet liquid was too much, and Lance heard a song that made him light up before pulling on Keith’s arm to get him away from the table, but still into the outskirts of the dance. Keith couldn’t help but stand still at first, watching as Lance flawlessly started dancing to the music, moving his body in ways Keith could honestly never think of. It was…breath taking, watching him gyrate his hips like that and so effortlessly move to the beat. But Lance wasn’t fine with Keith just staring. Lance moved over to Keith with a wicked smirk, holding onto Keith’s wrists and moving them back and forth to get him moving.

“I’m not good at dancing,” Keith shouted over the music.

“You’re doing just fine right now,” Lance said happily, moving Keith’s arm up in the air and moving him through a quick spin. “You’re a natural.”

“No, you’re a natural,” Keith said simply. Lance must have just gotten good at dancing on the spot after being immortal for so long and dealing with constantly changing music. When was the last time he actually went to a school dance like this and enjoyed himself? Maybe Keith should try a little harder to make sure Lance had a really good time…

“Nah, just practiced,” Lance said with a wink and Keith felt his heart stutter at that. He started moving as he could to the beat and nearly tripped over his own feet when the music changed, but Lance just laughed. The beat stayed the same, more or less, but it was more intense. Lance started hopping on his feet, as did the rest of the room and Keith decided to take after the lead, bouncing as best he could.

Lance’s laugh was infectious and Keith couldn’t stop himself from laughing, too, spinning around with Lance as he changed moves at the drop of a dime. Before long, however, the music started to slow down and Keith felt his heart hammer in his chest. It was a slow dance. Shit, he forgot to prepare for this. Lance didn’t even hesitate, happily taking hold of one of Keith’s hand then also holding onto his shoulder. Keith stared at their entwined hands, not sure what to do with his free hand at the moment, too distracted to process things properly.

Lance chuckled, guiding Keith’s free hand to his hip with a raised brow.

“You’re really cute when you’re nervous,” Lance said simply, taking a half step forward to press their bodies together. Keith blushed, glancing down at their feet. He hadn’t messed up yet, which was a good sign.

“It’s not fair, you’re never nervous,” Keith said.

“I’ll tell you a secret,” Lance said, leaning even closer, which Keith thought was freaking impossible but here they were, faces nearly pressed together. “I’m always nervous around you.”

“No way,” Keith said.

Lance laughed. “I always want to do my very best around you and you just keep doing…everything that surprises me. Like showing up to a dance with wet hair and looking better than I do in that tux and…just being you. It’s probably one of my favorite things about you, you’re always catching me off guard.”

“Keep going and you’ll catch me on fire,” Keith muttered, practically feeling the blush all the way to his damn toes.

“Maybe I like you best when you’re blushing,” Lance said and Keith was about ready to punch that smirk off of his face, if it wasn’t so pretty. Well, then, it might be time for a little revenge.

“You know what my favorite thing about you is?” Keith asked, keeping his face low and close to Lance’s neck, assuming it would be sensitive. He smirked when he discovered that it was indeed sensitive. “You always know how to make me laugh and your stupid obsession with doing cliché shit. And I think you look really, really cute when you try flirting with me and it turns out well.”

Lance hesitated a little bit, laughing lightly. “I mean, it kind of always turns out well, right?”

“Not with that attitude,” Keith scoffed, stepping back once the music changed back to another fast paced song. “Maybe I like my men humble.”

“Hun, if that was the case you would so not be dating me,” Lance said with a light laugh, already tapping his feet to the beat of the new song. It seemed like Lance still wasn’t satisfied with a pet name yet, waiting until he found something that he really, really liked. Or maybe he was waiting until Keith reacted to one of them enough to really like it.

“Then prove to me why I’m dating you, sweetheart,” Keith said and the look on Lance’s face was worth the embarrassing nickname.

* * *

Keith looked up at the sky, leaning his head on Lance’s shoulder. Lance was warm and comfortable and, even though it was cold outside in comparison to the dance still going on inside, it was great to get some fresh air. It was Lance’s idea, too. After a little while, Keith started to get a bit overwhelmed by all of the sounds and it was getting really got and Lance was able to see it easily. And being outside with him was really, really nice.

Aside from the other teens that got the idea to come outside to make out in peace without the chaperones telling them to keep their distance. Part of Keith couldn’t help but wonder why they weren’t like all the other, normal couples. They were really slow, which he really appreciated, but he had to wonder why they weren’t those obnoxious teens that couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. Was part of it because Lance wanted to go slow because he was experienced and didn’t want Keith to feel bad? It made a lot of sense…And Keith wasn’t exactly complaining.

“Your hair smells really nice,” Lance said suddenly and Keith just scoffed lightly, rolling his eyes. “No, dude, seriously. I envy your hair. You put some serious care into it.”

“Not…really,” Keith said. “I mean…I just shower. I don’t put anywhere near enough care into it as you do with your skin.”

“Maybe,” Lance said. “But…it’s still nice.”

Keith hummed, continuing to look up at the stars. This was really, really nice. Keith almost wished he could just stay like this forever, cuddled next to Lance. Despite being an undead, blood sucking beast, Lance was a great person. And Keith might be able to eventually say, out loud, that he loved Lance. But he also figured that, in order to get there, they needed to get past one little thing in their relationship.

“Hey, uh, Lance,” Keith said, sitting upright to make sure he could look Lance in the eye. “I have a…question for you.”

“Shoot,” Lance said, furrowing his brow. He was worried. Keith had to make this quick.

Keith took a deep breath, not sure where he was going with this, but he had to get it out there. “Okay, so this is going to sound…weird…possibly. But I think we both know that there’s a…big difference between us. And instead of letting it just sit there, I wanna just get it out in the open.”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand,” Lance said, nodding. They both glanced around at anyone else outside, but they were far enough away that they wouldn’t hear the conversation. “This is a…big step if you already wanna talk about it.”

“I just feel like it’s something we need to talk about,” Keith offered. “If we want to…be together, we need to make sure some ground rules are set, right? N-Nothing extremely serious, though, I promise. I don’t think…well…it’s only been, like, less than two months?”

“Yeah,” Lance said. “I…I get that. So I mean…you’re comfortable with this?”

“If you are, then, yeah, I think so,” Keith said. They hadn’t really confirmed it with words, but Keith could feel like they were on the same page. “So…then…um…the whole blood drinking thing…”

“Yeah,” Lance said, stiffening slightly. So they really were on the same page. This was definitely real. Okay, then. “Does it…make you uncomfortable?”

“No, no,” Keith said, shaking his head. “Unless it’s too much for you to handle…”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Lance said, shaking his head. That was a relief. Keith was worried that Lance might get overwhelmed with possibly wanting to drink from him. Maybe it was driving him crazy and he was just willing to suffer. How sweet. “So, here’s a random question, just because I’m curious.” Lance cleared his throat. “And, really, only answer if you’re comfortable with it…What does it feel like? Being a vampire?”

All of Keith’s thoughts stopped cold in his head and he stared at Lance in shock. “What?”

“I mean…that’s a really stupid question to ask, I can take it back,” Lance blurted out.

“You think I’m a vampire?” Keith asked slowly and Lance stared at him for a second before responding.

“Wasn’t that what we were just talking about?” Lance asked.

“I thought you were a vampire,” Keith said.

They were both quiet for a moment before Lance burst out laughing, holding onto his sides as he almost fell off of the bench they were on. Keith’s face started burning in embarrassment as he watched in shame. Well, Lance wasn’t making fun of him yet…so…

“You can stop laughing at me now,” Keith muttered.

“Dude, I’m laughing at both of us!” Lance blurted out, looking up at Keith with tears in his eyes. “Holy shit, that’s amazing, you have to admit. We both really thought…”

“What made you think I was a vampire?” Keith asked, hitting Lance in the side as he calmed himself down.

“You totally fit the brooding immortal type, I’m sorry,” Lance said, shaking his head. “And you don’t eat around me!”

“Because I didn’t want to make you eat,” Keith protested.

Lance started laughing again. “That is so sweet. And I’m not even joking here. That’s actually really, really sweet. Shit! Wait, wait, wait, what made you think I was a vampire?”

“You practically act like you’re allergic to garlic,” Keith said.

“It makes you smell bad,” Lance scoffed.

“And you…you…sparkle.” Keith’s expression dropped as Lance started laughing again. Keith responded by kicking him in the side and effectively knocking him off the bench. Lance just laid on his back, laughing as he looked up at the sky. “Shut up, I’m being serious.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I was solidly convinced, too,” Lance said. “The second you said ‘blood drinking’ I was sold and gone. Why do you keep staring at my neck?”

“I…space out a lot,” Keith muttered. “That stupid Band-Aid when we first met!”

“I told you it was a hickey!” Lance howled.

“I’ll kick you again,” Keith growled. “It healed really fast.”

“I put make-up on it,” Lance said, sitting upright finally. “And I sparkle because I like bath bombs, okay? How did we almost make it two months thinking we were vampires?”

“I mean…how long did you think I was a vampire?” Keith asked.

Lance let out a long breath. “Maybe a few weeks, honestly.”

“Day one,” Keith said and Lance let out another chuckle.

“We are a train wreck of a relationship,” Lance said. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Keith said, moving over on the bench to give him room to get back on. “I…thought the same thing. It was really stupid.”

“That must be why Pidge was laughing,” Lance said, climbing back on. Keith raised a brow. “I…told Hunk and Pidge that I thought you were a vampire. She started losing her shit. She must have figured out you thought the same.”

“And neither of them told you it was ridiculous?” Keith asked. Lance shook his head. “Shiro didn’t either when I told him. I bet they just thought it was ridiculous and wanted to see how it ended.”

“How is it ending?” Lance asked. “Did you…only date me because you thought I was a vampire?”

“Of course not,” Keith said. “I’m not that obsessed with vampires. I…put a lot of thought into it, actually. And I really like you. But if this whole…mess is too much for you.”

“Hold on there, partner,” Lance said with a smile. “We were both on the same page. If that doesn’t scream soul mates, I don’t know what does.” Now it was Keith’s turn to laugh, leaning closer to Lance as he did so. Lance laughed, too, reaching an arm around Keith’s shoulders and pulling him closer.

“We are ridiculous,” Keith said, shaking his head. He let out a deep breath. “Does this change anything for you?”

“Well,” Lance mused, “this means we’re gonna start going on dinner dates now. During the daytime. Now you have zero excuses. We are gonna go to a park and lay out a blanket and you’re gonna love it and-”

“I would like that,” Keith said, cutting him off. Keith’s daydreams recently had been filled with a…strained relationship. The vampire-mortal thing getting in the way and just making things awkward. And now…it was normal again. Lance was going at a slow pace because Keith wanted him to. And…it was really, really nice and Keith really, really wanted it to keep going. “Maybe I’ll get to see you sparkle in the light of day, finally.”

“I’m definitely getting you a bath bomb soon,” Lance said with a wicked smirk. “I really wanna see you sparkle like the most gorgeous Edward Cullen the world has ever seen.”

“Oh, my God, you’re gonna make me barf,” Keith groaned, bunching Lance in the stomach.

“And, maybe, if we’re lucky,” Lance said with a happy smile, but he still winced slightly, “my next neck Band-Aid will be your fault.”

“I can give you a face Band-Aid right now,” Keith threatened.

“Come on, my little vampire.” Lance smirked. “I think that’s the perfect pet name. Vampire.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Keith snapped.

“You can call me vampire, too,” Lance said, leaning forward. “I think it’ll be cute.”

“Cute my ass,” Keith muttered under his breath.

“I mean, that’s cute, too,” Lance said with a wink and Keith couldn’t stop the violent blush that happened because of it. “Do you think you wanna…get back to the dance? I think I want another slow dance now that I know you won’t bite me neck at the drop of a hat.”

“Maybe I still will,” Keith threatened, but stood up anyway. “Fine…But I have an idea. Pidge knew both of us thought we were vampires and didn’t say anything. Let’s get a little revenge.”

“Tell me more,” Lance said.


	5. The Payback

The Payback

“I think you look good like that,” Lance mused and Keith scoffed, continuing with the tape.

“I feel stupid,” Keith said. “I haven’t worn an MCR shirt since middle school.”

“But you wore them?” Lance asked with a raised brow. Keith just stared at him blankly before finishing up. “Don’t give me that look. I think you’d make a cute middle schooler, closed off in his room blasting emo music. Did you wear eye liner?”

“You wear eye liner,” Keith said simply, looking over his work. Instead of just a Band-Aid, they went bigger. They had a gauze pad taped to Lance’s neck and Lance even went ahead and used make up to make himself look more pale. And Lance decided it was a good idea to make Keith look even more brooding than “he already was,” apparently. So he was stuck in an old MCR shirt, black skinny jeans, and even some fingerless gloves Lance had found. Keith would never say it to his boyfriend, but he did in fact dress like this a few years ago.

“That was not an answer,” Lance said with a small pout. “You would look adorable in emo make up.”

“Maybe later,” Keith said. “We should probably get inside.”

“Fine,” Lance said with a heavy sigh. They stood just outside the school doors to make sure they both looked good before the start of their payback. For some reason, Lance thought that Keith made the better vampire (says the guy that hates the sun and garlic and doesn’t own silver) so they were going with Lance as the victim. And as of that dance, Keith started ‘drinking’ from him. They just needed Pidge, a hardcore believer in scientific proof and nothing else, to think that Keith was also a vampire.

“You are not going to see me in emo makeup,” Keith said simply as they walked inside, Lance taking hold of his hand as they walked.

“I’ll just have to find the pictures, then,” Lance said.

“Good luck,” Keith snorted. “Those are with the last foster family. I don’t keep pictures.”

“You need to learn to be sentimental,” Lance said. “That’s it, I’ve decided. We’re taking selfies every day and I’m going to keep them forever.”

“You decide a lot of things,” Keith mused as Lance dug into his pocket to pull out his phone. “Just don’t make a stupid face.”

“My face? Stupid? Never,” Lance scoffed.

“Always,” Keith said, nudging Lance in the side.

Lance ignored him, instead choosing to put the phone up in front of them, stopping just before the stairs down to the cafeteria. “Say vampire!”

“You’re so ridiculous,” Keith couldn’t help but laugh as the picture was taken and Lance happily brought it closer to them. Keith never took a lot of pictures, and when he did it was usually when it was forced upon him. He rarely had real smiles in pictures, if he smiled at all. But in there, with his head next to Lance’s…he looked happy. He felt happy.

“What do you think?” Lance mused. “I think the lighting looks a little weird…”

“Keep it,” Keith said and Lance smiled, closing his phone.

“You’re cute.”

“Shut up,” Keith scoffed.

Lance just laughed as they quickly made their way down the stairs, towards where Hunk and Pidge sat. Showtime.

“Whoa, Lance, Keith really did a number on your neck, huh?” Hunk immediately observed.

“Oh, what? No, I-I didn’t-” Keith stuttered out.

“Oh, yeah, you wouldn’t believe the hickey skills on this guy,” Lance said easily, rubbing over the bandage.

“What, no make up at home again?” Pidge asked, looking him over. “That thing must be pretty nasty if you can’t do just a regular Band-Aid.”

“Yeah,” Lance chuckled, sharing an antsy look with Keith. Lance was a pretty good actor, he would give him that. “But, hey, what’s up with you guys? Hunk, I didn’t see you or Shay after a while. You have some fun, too?”

“Uh, well, you know, we kinda…maybe,” Hunk said shyly.

“Uh-huh, yeah I’m sure,” Lance said with a smirk. He kept rubbing on the bandage, like it was irritating him. Keith just had to make sure he kept looking. Lance was still holding onto his hand and so Keith decided to move a little closer to him and, to try and sell it just a little more, he moved his face close to Lance’s neck. The little tingle that went down Lance’s spine was an added bonus.

* * *

“This feels stupid,” Keith said with a slight snicker as Lance went ahead and checked the stalls. They were alone, which was good, because they looked like complete idiots.

“Yes, but Pidge knows we’re both here,” Lance said simply with a wink.

“What, exactly did you tell her?” Keith asked. They decided to disappear together into the bathroom during a class Lance shared with her. Lance made sure he made it clear that he was going with Keith.

“I might have let it loose that I had a meeting with _someone_ right before I asked for the bathroom pass,” Lance said, leaning forward to steal a quick kiss. Keith rolled his eyes before pulling out what they needed from his pockets.

“We need to focus, kissing later,” Keith said and Lance pouted, but tilted his neck regardless. Keith handed Lance the bandage and tape and opened up the little bottle of fake blood, squeezing just a little onto his finger. “Are you sure this is enough to convince her?”

“We just need little clues right now,” Lance said. “The big bang comes soon.”

“You’re really into theatrics, aren’t you?” Keith asked, rubbing the fake blood around Lance’s neck, but just faint enough that it wouldn’t be extremely noticeable. Just noticeable enough for their target.

“It’s one of my many amazing qualities,” Lance said proudly. Keith scoffed, taking the bandage and tape from Lance before putting the bandage in its proper place. “Do vampires normally always drink from the same place? Like right at the same place?”

“If they’re drinking from the neck, they’re aiming for an artery,” Keith said. “So it stands to reason it’ll be the same place, more or less.”

“That makes sense,” Lance mused. “So…like, when you thought I was a vampire, were you imagining situations like this?”

“Were you?” Keith asked bluntly, stepping back to look at his work from a distance. There was just a little blood sticking out from the bandage, which looked hastily put together. Eventually, that one corner would fall off, revealing a little more blood. Lance just had to rub at it a little and everything would be fine.

“I was thinking more romantic, moonlit picnic,” Lance mused and Keith raised a brow. “You know, like we go into the forest alone together and, under the moonlight you would…drink my blood. I don’t know, all those weird paintings and books make it look like some kind of…orgasmic experience. I was kinda looking forward to it.”

“Well,” Keith said smoothly, making sure parts of Lance’s shirt were out of place and wrinkled. “The thing with vampires is that they’re meant to lure in people under the premise of an…orgasmic experience and then use that as a distraction to kill them. So, in theory, if that is what’s happening, you’re probably going to die in a few seconds.”

“…And you wanted to date me?” Lance asked quietly.

“I hesitated for a bit,” Keith said with a small smile. He took his chance and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “Now, make sure you run back so you’re out of breath.”

“Already there,” Lance said with a smile, his fingers tracing his lips before he left the bathroom. Keith couldn’t hold back his smile as he left as well.

* * *

It was Hunk’s idea. Well, mostly, it was Lance’s idea, but he gave it to Hunk. Keith gave him permission to let him in on the secret for the last stage of their plan. So, when their little friend group came together in Lance’s house ( _Keith was in Lance’s house again holy shit_ ) for a little holiday party, Hunk ‘came up with the idea’ for 7 Minutes in Heaven. It was under the guise of making fun of Lance and Keith.

Still, Keith definitely wasn’t going to object to being in a closet, so, so close to Lance.

“You know,” Lance whispered. “We have, like, seven whole minutes. We could…stand to get a little distracted.”

“This was your idea,” Keith hissed. “We are doing this now.”

“Fine, fine,” Lance muttered. Lance had hidden their supplies in this closet and he pulled them out as the two of them sat down. Lance handed Keith the fangs before popping open the fake blood himself.

“Are you sure that stuff is even safe for me to eat?” Keith asked, keeping his voice low.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine,” Lance said. “This is the kind of stuff Halloween vampires use, you can totally eat it. Probably doesn’t taste good but…”

“Just…put it on your neck,” Keith said, pulling out the little fangs from the box. They came with a special glue and he sighed before getting to work.

“You know, maybe we should be like, moaning, or something,” Lance offered, slathering his neck with blood, making sure the side close to the door was visibly bloody. “I can moan, I can do that.”

Keith kicked him in the side. “Don’t make this awkward.”

“I mean, you could totally kick my boner, then it’ll be really awkward,” Lance said and Keith glared harshly at him. Not like they could see extremely well in the darkness of the closet, but he hoped the effect came through.

“You don’t seriously have a boner, do you?” Keith asked.

“I mean, being this close to you makes it kinda hard to control myself,” Lance said with a smile. “Okay, it’s not, like full-blown, but it’s still there. We should actually try a seven minutes in heaven thing for real sometime.”

“Maybe,” Keith said. He finally put the first fang in and winced at the weird feeling. “If these fall out, it’s not my fault.” Honestly, it felt like it was just…hanging there, waiting to fall out.

“We just gotta sell it for a few seconds,” Lance said. “Just long enough for us to see her face.”

“Fine,” Keith said, sticking the other one in. “How do I look?” He offered a small smile, making sure to show off his fangs.

“You look adorable, vampire,” Lance said easily, handing over the blood.

“Thanks, means a lot,” Keith said, rolling his eyes. He made a move to pour the blood into his hand, but Lance stopped him.

“Wait, I have a better idea,” Lance said before taking the bottle back and pouring it onto his own fingers. Then he moved forward and carefully touched his fingers to Keith’s lips, moving down his chin.

“This feels ridiculous,” Keith snickered and Lance laughed a little, too.

“It’s cute,” Lane said. “Best date idea ever.”

“We’re probably running out of time,” Keith said, glancing at the door.

“Yeah, yeah, gimme a bit,” Lance said, practically coating Keith’s mouth and chin with blood. “Perfect. You look like a regular demon of the night.”

“Thanks,” Keith said, taking a deep breath. “Now we just need to wait for the queue. Ready?”

“Born ready,” Lance said. Keith pressed an ear to the door and it was only a few seconds before he heard Pidge and Hunk’s muffled voices getting closer.

“Okay,” Keith said, moving forward quickly so that his face was almost pressed against Lance’s neck. He hesitated for a second before carefully opening his mouth and lightly biting into him.

“We’re definitely going to have to try this a more conventional way later,” Lance said with a breathless chuckle and Keith rolled his eyes, biting a little harder.

The door opened before either of them could do anything and Keith froze for a moment before sitting upright in shock, right at Pidge who looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

“What the…” she breathed out.

“It’s so not what it looks like,” Lance blurted out, stumbling to his feet, but he wobbled, like he really was low on blood. “It’s…uh…fake. Yeah…yeah, Keith, tell him, this is just stage blood.”

“Uh…” Keith looked between them. Out of both of them, Keith was the worse actor, so the less lines he had, the better. So, he just had to look terrified, like his long-held secret was just blurted out to the rest of the world. “I…”

“There’s no way…” Pidge mused, taking a step back.

“I…I can explain,” Keith said slowly, making absolutely sure that Pidge could see his fangs. Having the blood actually in his mouth was…weird. It was basically just corn syrup, but it was very, very thick.

“That’s uh…a lot of blood, don’t you think?” Hunk asked hesitantly.

“I mean, um, I-I told you guys he was a vampire,” Lance said and Keith elbowed him sharply in the side as he stood up with him.

“Lance,” Keith hissed.

“It’s fine, I’m sure,” Lance said. “I mean, they won’t tell anyone, right?” He made a move to walk, but he stumbled and Keith caught him to keep him from falling.

“Jeez, how much did you even drink?” Hunk asked, rushing to the aid of his friend.

“I…um…” Keith hesitated. “Not enough to kill him…I think. It’s been a while since I’ve drunk from…humans…”

“Oh, my God,” Pidge said.

“I-It’s a lot at first,” Lance admitted. “But, I mean, it’s still Keith, right?”

“I think I need to get some sleep,” Pidge said slowly, turning towards the door. Keith couldn’t help but smirk a little bit. Keith wasn’t entirely sure how he would have reacted if Lance had come out as a vampire like this. He probably would have passed out and Pidge, master of science, was probably questioning a lot of things right now.

“Yeah, I totally understand, you do that,” Lance said, looking at Hunk and nodding his head towards the door and Hunk nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s a…lot of info right now,” Hunk said, tiptoeing around them. Keith raised a brow, but watched as the two of them left. Lance kept a hand solidly over his neck as he followed them to the door and Keith let out a laugh once the door was closed.

“That turned out better than I thought it would,” Keith said when Lance came back. “Why did you make Hunk leave?”

“Maybe because I want some time alone with my vampire?” Lance offered, happily wrapping Keith into a hug and nuzzling his neck, smearing some of the fake blood on Keith’s shirt.

“At least let me wipe this shit off,” Keith said, but Lance didn’t even hesitate to kiss him right on the lips, the fake blood making their lips awkwardly slippery. “This is gross,” Keith said, pulling back.

“And what did you think dating a vampire would actually be like?” Lance asked with a slight laugh.

“A little less willingness to make out in your own blood,” Keith admitted and Lance laughed. “When are we going to tell her?”

“I don’t think we should,” Lance said with a smile. “Let her figure it out on her own. Besides, that’s definitely not our highest priority at the moment. I’m a bit more interested in what’s right in front of me. I’m willing to wait while we clean up, what about you?”

“Fine,” Keith said. “Bathroom?”

“Around the corner,” Lance said. “We can…uh…meet up in my room? Your choice if you keep the fangs in, vampire.” Keith couldn’t help the small laugh that rose in his chest. “Oh, wait! But first! Selfie!”

Lance struggled to get his phone out of his pocket before pulling it in front of them, wrapping arm around Keith’s neck. Seeing his own reflection, Keith couldn’t help but laugh a little. They were both covered in fake blood and the fangs, especially when he was smiling, were extremely obvious and…looked almost real. And they both looked impossibly happy.

Never, in his wildest dreams, had Keith ever thought that being with Lance would feel this great, even with both of them covered in blood and Keith turning out to be a vampire. Keith couldn’t be happier that he moved to a new school in the middle of the semester. Who knew how the next semester would go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Insert Pidge kicking open the door to her house screaming “Matt, holy fuck!”*


End file.
